Charles DuBack at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art - Rockport, Me

This mini-retrospective, titled "Nature the Master Teacher," covered about 50 years of Charles DuBack's art, starting with the charming Cousins, a Matisse-influenced canvas from 1952, and ending with Mount Katahdin (Forever Wild), 2000, an abstract, mosaiclike suggestion of the tallest mountain in Maine. These two oils exemplify DuBack's primary subjects: the figure and the landscape (the two are sometimes combined).

The exhibition featured several large-scale pieces that show DuBack at home in mixed mediums. The Coopers (1970, 94 by 126 inches) portrays 14 barrel-makers from Waldoboro, Me. In a trompe I'oeil manner, the artist mixes painted renderings of the seated and standing figures with such affixed elements as a pair of suspenders, dungarees, a plastic bouquet and fabricated wood heads and arms.

In a similar manner, the delightful Wild Swan (1974, 72 by 93 inches) combines found materials and canvas to create the side of a sailboat captained by a female nude. The same figure appears in different poses across the deck, hoisting the yellow sail, climbing on board, etc. Actual rope and sail canvas strengthen the suggestion of a vessel.

Another painting, New Year's 1961 (64 by 74 inches), relates to DuBack's years in New York City (he helped found the cooperative Landmark Gallery in the 1950s). He and six friends, including the sculptor Bernard Langlais, are shown full figure, somewhat Alex Katz-like, dressed for a night out. The dates 1960 and 1961 edge the canvas.

The Dream (1974) is an eight-panel standing screen that shows a naked man and woman running through the forest, the former with sideburns and with his fist thrust in front of him, the latter bearing a lily. The scene might be a takeoff on the Pre-Raphaelites, but it also might be just plain silly.

DuBack's diverse repertoire of materials includes hand-colored paper collage, silkscreen, charcoal, pastel and watercolor. He enters Nell Welliver territory in Moose Country (1977), a 13-color silkscreen print, and God's Country (1979), a study in charcoal and pastel on paper. Both works depict the landscape around Mount Katahdin, which appears in the distance in the latter piece.

Consistent throughout this sometimes careening show is an upbeat vision of the world and a love of making art. That is not to say that DuBack wears rose-colored glasses; he merely regards his surroundings with wonder and responds with humor, pleasure and precision.

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